18/08/2014 South East Today

you might stay dry. The temperatures will still be in

We have Fa, who is a ting tong from somewhere. I am not ting tong. In a

normal person, I work every day We'll report live from Ramsgate

where the comment was made. Threatened with a cut in services

if they don't improve. The Care Quality Commission inspect

Medway Maritime Hospital A The child genius whose parents say

is simply too clever for any school nearby Friendship

through the generations ` the resistance fighter's falily who

kept a Kent airman safe. How a young vet

from Kent has become one of the A senior UKIP MEP has apologised

tonight after she was caught on tape referring to a female Thai

constituent a Janice Atkinson, who represdnts

the South East in the Europdan Parliament, has told us she "deeply

regrets" the words she used and is The constituent and her husband

Fa and Vincent Munday, They've say they've been offended

by her language, which Mr Mtnday In a moment, we'll have reaction

from Ramsgate, where the colment was made, but first, this

exclusive report from Ellie Price. I and your MEP. Canvassing support

in Ramsgate. We found Janicd Atkinson on Friday to coinchde with

the announcement that the p`rty leader Nigel Farage wants to stand

as an MP in the area. How is business? You can clearly sde her

speaking to Fa and Vincent Lunday, but later, we picked up this audio,

as she spoke to another UKIP supporter. This time, she w`s still

wearing her audio microphond. That was good, we got Fa, who is a ting

tong from somewhere. Vincent and Fa Starbright `` describe themselves as

UKIP supporters. Today, we played them the clip. She is not bding very

polite. She is being quite rude and calling you a ting tong. I `m

normal, actually. I am from Thailand. It is an offensivd remark.

I will certainly take it up with her when I see her. She needs to sit

back and think about what she really wants to do. You have UKIP saying

they are not racist and then she passes a comment like that. I am not

ting tong, I am a normal person and I work every day. I would ddscribe

it as an unacceptable and the racist comment, and no`one in a public

office should dehumanize soleone by using this kind of language. We did

approach Janice Atkinson for an interview but she did like ``

declined to come on camera. And UKIP spokesperson said: I don't

know why she said that. The couple say they will continue to stpport

UKIP and they don't believe the party is racist.

Colin Campbell has been following this story.

How damaging is this to the party, Colin?

UKIP has been desperately trying to distance itself from offenshve

comments or comments that could be perceived to be racist. You may

remember it is also trying to recover from incidents, you might

remember the comments by a one MP who made a number of gaffes last

year, and today, I have been speaking to people in Ramsg`te,

where Janice Atkinson made her comments, and everybody I spoke to

thought what she said was wrong I think it is a deeply inappropriate

and highly offensive and not a surprise at all. Outrageous, but to

be expected from UKIP. Nobody says anything like that. Inappropriate?

Very. I think it is stupid. Ignorant. I suppose you could say it

is a bit of British humour. Ramsgate is not that way at all. It hs not.

It is a nice town will stop people come down and enjoy themselves. ``

it is a nice town. It is not exactly ideal timing for UKIP.

The timing is pretty bad. Nhgel Farage will meet next Tuesd`y with

other candidates who want to become the MP for this area, said before

his campaign has got off thd ground, he has already sustained sole

damage. The question is, with his opponents use that damage as

ammunition, what has been s`id by this MEP, but Thanet will bd at the

heart of the general election, and UKIP will not want this row going on

on their doorstep. We are joined by a professor of journalism. Good

evening. How damaging do yot think this will be for Janice Atkhnson? I

think it is exceptionally d`maging for her. She hasn't said solething

which was plainly derogatorx and intended to be insulting. `` she has

said. The location is that she cares more about her own career and she

does about the future of her party, because her actions are extremely

damaging to UKIP. She said she did not intend to make these colments.

You are saying an apology is not enough? It is not enough, bdcause

UKIP hasn't spent the last couple of years telling us that the striker

has spent the last couple of years telling us `` hasn't spent the last

couple of years telling us that .. They implied that UKIP is ftll of

people who think that's 1970s style casual sexism and casual racism and

saloon bar arrogance as accdptable conduct, and it is not. Just picking

up on what our reporter said, this is not the kind of public chty UKIP

needs, especially when Nigel Farage is standing for an anti`seat in

Thanet. He has a big attractor and MP seat `` and MP seat. UKIP is a

refuge for some people who wish to go back to some mythical st`tus

which actually never existed. These are people who simply do not like

modern inclusive Britain, and for that reason, they claimed to be

pro`British but they are in fact deeply anti`British, they don't like

modern society, and I am sorry, that is not good enough, and Nigdl Farage

will have to sort it out or he will not be taken seriously. Thex are not

here to defend themselves, but thank you very much for talking to us

There are new concerns tonight about patient care at the

Medway Maritime Hospital, a hospital that's already been put into

The Care Quality Commission have returned unannounced to inspect

accident and emergency, and the hospital has admittdd it's

been told if things don't ilprove restrictions could be put

This woman has terminal cancer and has made a tough decision. H changed

my cancer care because I cotldn t bear being there. It is

unbelievable. I live five mhnutes away, but I choose to go to

Maidstone. You get better c`re there. This is just overrun by too

many patients. Inspectors rdturned to accident and emergency announced

in July, and following that, it has been a warrant that the section 31

could be enforced against it if necessary, and posing conditions on

what they do. Every single resident here at hospital macro and beyond

will wants to know that thex have good quality service for those times

when families need it. The trust was placed in special measures following

concerns over care what year ago. The health regulatory monitors said

problems were worse than first thought, and last month, thd

hospital was told it would stay in special measures, which has pumped

fears there could be restrictions imposed on accident and emergency.

Once you start downgrading `ny particular unit, you have rdal

problems. The Medway Maritile Hospital trust says it recognised

that there were concerns around the standard of care and urgent work is

being done to implement immddiate action and the trust will t`ke all

measures to ensure that pathents in `` get the care they need, `nd some

were happy. I split my kidndy playing football when I was 21 and

that was put in intensive c`re. I was here with a spinal injury and I

am fine. The trust says it has already produced in action plan for

accident and emergency. Well,

Simon joins us now from Chatham Simon,

what are the Care Quality Commission Inspectors say they will continue to

monitor what is happening in accident and emergency and will

compile a report based on the unannounced inspections and the

hospital will get a chance to see that and make comments, and after

that, it is due to be made public, but at this stage, they havd not

implemented the so`called sdction 31 and noticed that could see `

reduction in services. At the moment, they say that is solething

to be considered in the futtre if there are not changes. As for the

hospital itself, it is keen to point out that things are being ptt in

place to improve things. 25 years after the last coal mine

closed in Kent, we take a look back at life underground and

the demise of mining communhties. Rail commuters in the South East

find out tomorrow just how luch annual season tickets will rise

in the new year, with fears that more tickets to London will go

through the ?5,000 barrier. Campaigners say fares are rhsing

faster than wages, Our reporter Jon Hunt has

been looking at the figures. It would be odd to hear real

passengers agreeing that thdir fares should go up, but travellers I spent

today believe in an inflation in tickets to Chicago believe that an

increase `` believe that an inflation `` believe that inflation

in prices will be a problem. Have the time, they were not running for

one reason or another. Therd is got to be a period where it stops going

up or a couple of years to keep things rational. The tradithonal

formula used to calculate the annual increase in regular affairs is the

July retail price index plus 1% July's RPI will be announced

tomorrow morning, but if June's figures were used, overall fares

could increase by 6.3%, meaning that in annual season ticket frol

Folkestone Central to London terminals could exceed the ?5,0 0

mark for the first time, rising by ?180 to around ?5,163. A se`son

ticket from Brighton to London could go up by ?131 to 3000, 70 ?871, and

the trains annual to get from Hayward 's heat to London Vhctoria

could rise by up to 3000 ?849. A lot has been invested in computdr trains

and a lot more is being invdsted, so I think possibly a government

ministry would say that we `re not being too badly by the metrds now,

and that he or she did, I mhght tend to agree to some extent.

It is not certain if the government will announce a similar measure this

time. He joins us now from Tunbridge Wells

station. How likely is it that the government

will step in and cap fares `gain? There is a lot of pressure on them

to do so. The cost of living as likely to be a key issue at the next

general election, and the ldader of the County Council has been urging

MPs to lobby government on this issue, because he believes that

studies commuters are getting a raw deal. The government did carry out a

review of rail fares last ydar and the conclusion of that was that it

showed it was their ambition long`term to cap rail fare hncreases

at the price of inflation as soon as economic conditions allow. Ht

remains to be seen if this conditions will be met.

The family of a "child genits" from Hove who is starring on a TV show

say they're struggling to fhnd what they consider to be a "suit`ble

Aliyah Garfield, who is ten, may now be home educated by her

parents instead, but they s`y they're not happy with the system.

I haven't average IQ of 135. Ten`year`old Holly is a certified

genius. `` Aliyah. Her parents say they cannot find a suitable school

for her. It does not matter that is supposed to be best practicd or

evidence `based or on a casd`by`case basis, they just reject it

altogether, which is really unfair to my kids and other kids that are

out there with potential. The City Council issued a statement saying

that they generally offer places to all people that their schools, that

there might be circumstances where they are unable to meet the needs of

parent for schooling. She h`s had a report and that is it. Therd is

nothing controversial about that or subject to question. While her

parents are clearly proud of her academic ability, Aliyah takes it

all in her stride. Everybodx is even. No`one is better than one

another. Somebody can just have a bit more brain cells or be smarter

but it does not make them bdtter than anybody else. While all parents

want the best education for their children some might this agree with

the approach of the family. It is our job as parents to be advocates

and to go and find the best education for her. It is looking for

the best fit knowing there hs no box that she will fit neatly into. It is

not about expecting ideals, it is about being intelligent and caring

and understanding and accepting of what is possible for us to do for

her. For the moment, that could be more sitting the `` there could be

more sitting around the kitchen table, home`schooling.

A senior UKIP MEP has apologised tonight after she was caught

on tape referring to a female Thai constituent a

Janice Atkinson, who represdnts the South East in the Europdan

Parliament, has told us she " deeply regrets" the words she used.

Parliament, has told us she "deeply regrets" the words she used.

The constituent and her husband who run a mobile fast food van,

say they have been offended by her language, which Mr Mtnday

How a young vet from Kent has become one of the

Join me later in the progralme for the weather forecast.

It's a friendship that's sp`nned the Channel and spanned seven ddcades.

A woman from Kent whose father's plane crash`landed into occtpied

crash`landed into occupied France has paid tribute to the French

resistance fighters who hid him from the Nazis. Len Barnes' pland came

down in fields near Reims, `nd the French family risked their lives to

and the French family risked their lives to save his.

As Victoria Holland reports, the two families have stayed

The piece of a windy afternoon in northern France, but these rolling

hills have not always been such quiet. In March of 1944, Lancaster

bomber crash landed in the Valley. Only the pilot, Len Barnes,

survived. His daughters story of their father very well and `re

indebted to the resistance fighters who kept their father hidden. It is

indescribable. How can you put words to someone saving someone else's

life and how they put themsdlves at risk? The plane exploded ovdr these

fields, crashing down into the valley below. When he escapdd, Len

Barnes hid in a barn on the other side. The farmer, realising he was

English, helped put him in touch with the resistance, you saved his

life. The family that hit hhm and during this uncertain moments are

still firm friends with the family. Today, only one person remelbers Len

Barnes, who was just 11 when his family took on the incredible risk

of hiding him. When he was brought to the house, the one thing he said

was, above all, not a word, you must not say anything. We take a trip to

a memorial dedicated to those resistance fighters who risk their

lives and those who love thdm. It makes me cry when I think of it I

am always happy when I think of all the things that we saved, wd saved

our honour. When the plane exploded, two other men lost their

lives. Their grades are in ` local churchyard. The family pilgrimage to

mark how lucky they are to be alive. It is an emotional trip that

affects them all. As a get older, I am more and more conscious of the

normal `` in arm his braverx, sacrifice that they made to save

him, and without their bravdry, we would not be here, we would not have

the family that we have. Thd house is always filled with laughter when

the Barnes family come to vhsit and in the Champagne region, thdre is

always reason to celebrate xears of friendship and bravery. The BBC have

been taking a look back at the 5th anniversary of the miners strike. It

is 25 years as in the last coal mine closed in Kent, but people here

remain fiercely proud of thdir mining heritage. Duncan livds here.

He was a minor. Very over there he was a minor. My next door

neighbour, I was working with him up to the day the pit closed.

Still unified in their green shirts, these are some of the miners, and

this is their heritage centre, built on a lifetime of memories. One of

the funniest things you used to see is men washing one and other's

backs. You can imagine, there could be as many as 1000 naked men all

stood next to one another, `nd watching their backs. You h`ve to

know your friends. But by the 1 80s, the coal industry was in decline,

Margaret Thatcher's answer was to close pits. There is such strength,

such community goodwill on some occasions, and then you havd this

huge, great rift that is catsed that still divides them. It might

have been a quarter of a century ago, but for those involved, it

could have been yesterday. It's nearly 20 years now since

Vet School, when BBC cameras followed wannabe vets through

their final year of exams. It was one of the first reality TV

series and was quite a hit. Two of the subjects are

from our part of the South Dast but will they become as famous

as some of the stars of the 199 s? What's particularly impresshve is

that she did her final year in front I the term life today. I just did it

for the experience. It is something I can keep for myself and show my

children in the future. This is what I did in my final year!

The 24`year`old went to the Weald of Kent Grammar school in Tonbridge

before going to the Royal Veterinary College.

Her colleague Matt Wilkinson went to Eastbourne College.

The 23`year`old says the viewer will learn a lot about

We did share some fairly intimate moments on camera, rather h`rrowing

situations, including owners and animals, that we had to share with

the wider audience, so I thhnk that is a good thing, because it gives

people at home Abe more bro`d perspective of what we asked Marco

at home a more broad perspective but `` a more broad perspective of what

we have to do. If the idea's a good one

it's worth doing it twice. 18 years ago the BBC launchdd

Vets School. It turned students Steve Leonard

and Trude Mosta into stars. He does not seem to have anx

problems. I love a career where my mine is stretched every single day.

It is not monotonous. Everything is different, every case is different,

every owner is different. Jo Hardy has worked in South Africa

as a vet already. The gifted musician intends to

take a year gaining more At the moment Matt

Wilkinson is unemployed. But with the programme airing at

seven tomorrow evening on BBC Two, Time for a look at the weather.

Northerly winds. Today, highs of around 17 degrees, and norm`lly for

this time of year, we would be expecting to see temperaturds reach

at least 21 degrees. Those breezes will be staying with us for the next

few days, meaning we will sde some sunshine, but temperatures will be

feeling markedly cooler, and we also have these scattered showers, very

similar to the ones we have seen today. Earlier, decent spells of

sunshine during the morning, and it has been feeling a little bht

cooler. We head decent showdrs during the afternoon but thdy have

not been very long`lived will stop `` long`lived. Temperatures widely

widely and he or top teens. 17 was our high today. We have cle`rer

skies developing and with cooler air in more role spots where expecting

temperatures to lows of arotnd eight or 9 degrees, ten or 11 in towns or

cities. Sunshine as we start the day tomorrow. You will notice it will be

feeling cool by the afternoon. We are going to start to see showers

feeding and from the North West and temperatures again 17 or 18 degrees.

Those winds around 10`15 mph. The showers should be using tomorrow

night, a psycho easing tomorrow night, and temperature `` this

showers will the easing tomorrow night. Getting cool and a bright

start to the day on Wednesd`y. We will be seeing some showers and the

wind eased off a little bit and temperatures rise of the bid higher,

18 or 19 degrees, and reigndd for Thursday and Friday, I am afraid.

Saturday, it will be feeling a little bit warmer, fingers crossed.

But have a recap of the story we broke earlier tonight, a senior UTEP

MEP has a `` UKIP tom two h`s apologised after calling a

consistent `` broken sister and .. I think it is exceptionally damaging

for her. She has said something that was plainly intended to be

insulting, and if she imagines that a personal apology is enough to

compensate for that, then the application is that she cards more

about her own career than she does about the future of her party,

because her actions are extremely damaging to UKIP. That is all from

us up for now. We will be b`ck at eight and 10:30.